Megaphone
by MadeiIncredi917
Summary: I really love these books, these books does not seem to have any finished fanfiction. An exchange student shows up when the NERDS are at their busiest.
1. chapter 1

**This might not be the most interesting chapter, but I hope someone likes it anyway. This is set before the events of the fifth book. Except Heathcliff can remember who he is and is just back to being a normal team member. (The lunch lady is still a lunch lady and Brand is still director.) Please enjoy this fanfiction.**

One: The Unlucky Dip

Matilda 'Wheezer' Choi took a puff from her ever-present inhalers as she sat, along with her friends, in the school hall, which was packed absolutely full with students and teachers for a special assembly. Currently, four people were trying to get the microphone to function properly and were failing, sending screeches around the room. Almost twenty minutes later, the principal stood on the stage, un-microphoned, and began to explain why they had all been made to wait around.

"Kids, we're going to get an amazing opportunity! Our school, out of all the schools in America, has been chosen to participate in a global exchange program with some students in Australia! One student will be randomly selected to go live there for twelve whole months, the other will get to have the Australian student stay with them!" Matilda nearly choked, sharing a desperate look with her friends and teammates. If any of them were selected to leave for twelve months, it would be a catastrophe. She was extremely nervous as the principal rifled threw the hat of names...

Meanwhile (sort of, time zones), half a world away, Macy Nelson ran through her house at breakneck speed, grabbing her red school bag, tightening a pigtail, sweeping her lunch off the bench and into her bag, clamping a piece of hastily-spread toast between her teeth before racing out the door and yelling a somewhat muffled,

"Bye mum! Bye Kate! Bye Luna!" Her mother, sister, and cat, who were somewhat used to her morning routine, just responded with their own morning farewells, with a "Bye Macy!" from mum, a "Won't miss ya!" from Kate, and a "Meowwww!" from Luna. Macy was running late for school. Again. She swung herself up onto her red bike, buckled her helmet under her chin, and rode off one-handed, shoving the piece of toast down her throat as she did. She swung her bike down in the general area around the bike shed and threw her helmet in the same general area as her bike, before throwing her bag towards her classroom, and racing towards the school hall for the special assembly. She was just in time to hear her name being called.

"Macy Nelson! You will go to live in America for twelve months, coming here will be Heathcliff Hodges! You will be staying with..."

"Matilda Choi!" Matilda and Macy both muttered the same thing,

"Well, that was an unlucky dip."

 **If you liked it so far, please review! Seriously, please. I would really appreciate it.**

 **~Madei**


	2. chapter 2

**Annnnd I'm back. Hello my imaginary readers! How was your day? If there are any non-imaginary readers (yeah, right) please enjoy this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: Madei Incredi917 and Michael Buckley are not the same person. They start with the same letter, BUT THAT'S IT.**

Two: Planes and Hostility

Two weeks after one seriously unlucky dip, Macy Nelson plonked herself on a plane seat, eyes still red and puffy after her goodbyes to her parents, sister, and cat. It was late, very late. She was tired, very tired. But try as she might, she could not sleep. A good hour after takeoff, she gave up and started watching the Incredibles, her all-time favourite movie. She mouthed every line, clutching one earbud. Many movies, TV shows, and Ebooks later, the plane came in for a landing...

Matilda waited for one Macy Nelson with her mother and her brothers, impatient to pick up the already irritating girl and get home, a two-hour wrestling special was playing on TV and she was missing it. She watched the people getting off the flight with a bored expression on her face. A woman in a business suit, a man with an oversized hat, a silly-looking guy texting... There! That had to be her! The girl Matilda had singled out from the crowd was fairly tall, had reddish-brownish hair secured in two pigtails, had an ambush of freckles mutinying against her slightly-but-not-exactly tanned skin, and was wearing a t-shirt that said 'Hummingbirds can't walk', a pair of faded jeans, and beaten-up red converse. Yep, it just had to be her. Sure enough, the girl cautiously made her way over and asked them,

"Are you the Choi family?"

Molly Choi smiled at the girl.

"Yes, you must be Macy."

Macy scratched the back of her neck.

"That's me! Um, I need to get my other luggage, if that's okay..."

"Of course, why wouldn't it be? MONKEYS, SETTLE DOWN!"

Macy started walking towards the conveyer and everyone else followed. She grabbed a red duffel bag and a red suitcase.

"No prizes for guessing her favourite colour, boys!" an older brother, indiscernible, announced. Macy blushed as red as her duffel.

A short while later, Macy and all of the Choi family were in the rather large family car, or rather small bus. Matilda's oldest brother, who Macy had forgotten the name of, was learning how to drive, so the journey home was jerky and unpredictable. Macy tried to start a conversation with Matilda at least three times, but was entirely ignored. Macy gave up and just stared out the window, wondering what she had done to make Matilda so hostile...

 **Please review! I need to know I'm not writing for nothing!**

 **~Madei**


	3. chapter 3

**This is the point in my stories where a plot slowly starts happening. I hope that you like it!**

Three: Vending Machines

The next day, Macy clambered out of the camp bed on Matilda's floor that she had slept on and realised she had ten minutes before the bus left. Why had no-one woke her up? She scrambled in her suitcase for her hairbrush, and put her hair into it's uniform pigtails. Oh, that was right! She did not have to wear a uniform anymore! She grabbed a clean pair of jeans and a black t-shirt with the white words 'Peanuts are an ingredient in dynamite' across it. She did not even bother to tie her laces, just shoving her feet into her sneaker, grabbing a hoodie, and sweeping a few books and a small collection of notes and coins to buy lunch with into her open school bag. She ran down the stairs just in time to catch Matilda walking out the door. Molly Choi gave her a concerned look.

"You are most likely going to be very jet lagged in the middle of the day. Maybe you should stay home, just once?"

And miss her first day of school in this country? Unlikely!

"I'll be fine, it'll be no problem!"

She raced out the door and stood, bouncing on her heels, by the bus stop.

Not fine not fine not fine not fine. It was about twelvish, and everyone was eating lunch. Macy felt seriously weirded out, and might actually pass out at her empty table. It felt like the middle of the night! No-one was sitting near here, since she had immediately been branded a nerd because of her shirt and pigtails, and the existing nerd herd, including her housemate, had been staring at her so hard when she tried to sit at their table, she did not even dare. She frowned at her lunch. Some sort of fish, it look decidedly unappetising. She looked over at the vending machine. Maybe there was some sort of caffeine bar here? No, there was something even better! A caramel and white chocolate chocarina bar! She loved those things, and they had an immense amount of sugar that would keep her awake for ages! She needed it. She grabbed her coins.

A few tables away, Julio 'Flinch' Escala got up to go get the last caramel and white chocolate chocarina. He had already had a giant s'more sandwich, about three packets of m and m's, and an entire packet of shortbread, but he wanted-needed- more. The girl with pigtails ran past at top speed, nearly knocking him off balance. He gave chase, turning his harness up just enough so she would not be able to catch him. To his surprise, she climbed onto the nearest table earning the yells of the occupants, before launching herself onto his back, tackling him to the ground, and placing her knee on the back of his neck. Her fingers squeezed a spot on the side of his head and he found himself unable to move. About a minute later, she walked back, munching on the oversized chocolate bar. She broke off a few squares and pressed them into his unmoving hand.

"You should be able to eat it in about three minutes. Sorry about that, I just love chocolate."

Then she was back at her empty table, and he was hopelessly confused. The rest of the NERDS team stared of after her in shock.

"Place her under observation?"

Gluestick asked.

The other three only nodded their heads.

Several lessons later, they had learned that her voice got very, very, very heigh when she was nervous or excited. This seemed to be her nerdiest trait, although there were an awful lot of them. At the end of the schoolday, they had a bit more knowledge about her, and no missions. It would be the last time there were no missions for a long, long time...

 **Am I doing well? Are you enjoying the story? Hit the review button, I really want to know what you think! As far as I know, there is no such thing as a chocarina bar, I just made it you.**

 **~Madei**


	4. chapter 4

**Yet again, I return. Update arrives! I hope you like it!**

Four: Chickenpox

Macy Nelson sat on her camp bed, texting her mother.

Macy: What happened today?

Mum: Your father's mysterious itchy rash was actually the chickenpox.

Macy: But he's had them already!

Mum: My personal theory was that all the viruses he's had lately weakened his immune system.

Macy: What did Kate say?

Mum: "All of the young lads were off fighting all the other stuff, so all they had left were the weird cheap old dudes, who were going like 'We'll show them" and all the chickenpox were like Hiiiii! Karazm! Banbgi! but they're all chickens so it's like Cliiiiii! Clarazam! Clanbgi! and all the weird old dudes were like Gaaaah! Paaaaaain! Ican'tsayanythingcauseI'mdead! and there were a bazillion trillion chickens, and three weird old dudes, and who's gonna win?

Macy laughed so hard tears began to roll down her cheeks, before beginning to cry in earnest. She would have given anything to be back with her family and friends. Her first week of school had been a nightmare, not one person had approached her, and she had the feeling that she was constantly being watched. She screamed into her pillow, which was soaked with tears. A short girl with a unibrow heard the screams and came running. She peeked around the door and felt a bit guilty. She had barely said two words to the girl who had turned her life upside down, despite the fact that it was not really her fault. She did not know how to deal with emotions, neither other people's or her own. For that reason, she did not enter the room to comfort the sobbing Macy, but made a mental note to be nicer to her.

 **Legitimately what my little sister said when we found out dad had chickenpox. I had to put it in my story, no way around it. I hope it was funny! Please leave a review if you liked it! Or are reading it! Please!**

 **~Madei**


	5. chapter 5

**More chapters! More words! No reviews!**

Five:Teammate

The next Monday, a pigtailed geeky girl shoved her books in her locker, before slamming it shut. She raced off to her first class of the day, cursing schedules under her breath. When she ran into the room, she stopped short. Where was Matilda, and all of her friends? They were usually at least there for homeroom.

But they were a good deal under the school, sitting in the Playground and having a meeting that happened to be about her.

"We need someone else on the team."

Ruby stated. This was not her opinion, it was simply a fact. Miss Information, as Miss Holiday was now calling herself, was coming up with a weird new scheme on a daily basis, and the kids had not slept in three days. If they had the time, they would have, but no such luck. The NERDS team sneezed. Ruby spitefully wiped a hand under her nose.

"Oh, let the government agents get it. We need at least one mission off! Who should we put in the upgrade chair?"

Flinch looked up from a very chewy toffee sweet and tried furiously to unstick his teeth. It was a almost impossible task, but eventually he managed enough to say,

"Get the exchange student."

Duncan, without taking his head off the desk, started talking.

"That might actually work."

Macy Nelson was a pretty nerdy person, so she was bound to have a nerdy trait the machine could upgrade, she already knew a good deal about fighting, and she could lie incredibly, though she preferred to call it acting. After the year, they would have Heathcliff back, and they would no longer need her. All the NERDS were aware of this, but none had enough energy to say it aloud. It was decided. The exchange student was getting upgrades. Another mission sneeze went off. Later.

Upstairs, it was lunchtime before the NERDS got back. Matilda went over and asked the girl, significantly taller than herself,

"How would you like to become a spy?"

Five minutes later, a doubtful Macy stood in front of Matilda's locker.

"This is a prank show, isn't it? Just some silly trick to play on the new girl."

"Just get in the locker!"

So she did, and was she ever shocked as she rushed down to the Playground...

"Wow."

There was not much else to say when you saw the Playground for the first time. Benjamin gave her a holographic briefing on the team and their upgrades, before asking her if she wanted her own. For her, the answer was simple.

"HECK YEAH!"

 **Annnnnnd there we go. The actual upgrades will come next chapter. That's about it from me.**

 **~Madei**


	6. chapter 6

**I had really bad writer's block, but I'm back! To my story no-one is reading... I like writing this! Yeah!**

Six: SKRRRRRREEEEEEEEEE

Macy was absolutely overwhelmed, and the next half hour or so was a mad blur. The upgrade room... Being scanned... Being told her weakness was her voice, how it went high or low whenever she felt an extreme emotion... Protesting... Getting her upgrades... Blacking out... She could not believe it had not been a dream. She told herself, when you open your eyes, you will be on your camp bed, and you will not cry. She opened her eyes, fully expecting the wall covered in posters of pro wrestlers to stare back at her. Instead, she got an eyeful of Matilda and her friends watching her like she was an exhibit in a zoo. She was definitely not in her camp bed, and she tried to demand an explination to the whole blacking out thing but instead...

"What is hap- EEP!"

Her voice was screechy, going way to high and way too low. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. However, all the dogs within a twenty kilometre radius started barking. She clamped a hand over her mouth and stared at the NERDS with panic-filled eyes. Matilda got up and started talking.

"Hello, Agent Megaphone. As you are doubtless already aware, your voice has been upgraded, along with your lung capacity. You will be ab-"

"SkIP thaT! whAt'S hAPPenING?"

"Your voice is out of your control. Please concentrate on keeping it level. You will learn how to control it, as well as other useful things you will use during missions. Training begins-"

"SKRRRRRREEEEEEEEEE!"

Everyone stared in shock at the girl who had just made the impossibly loud sound. Matilda changed the end of her sentence.

"Immediately."

 **There! I was not sure how to upgrade her, but hopefully I did okay. Please review! Is anyone reading?**

 **~Madei**


	7. chapter 7

**I should be trying to go to sleep, but I just had an idea. It takes priority, obviously.**

Seven: Cartoons Fix Everything

It did not take long for Agent Megaphone to get out of the training program. She spent a whole lot of time figuring out how to beat everything thrown at her. Within one week, she had complete control over her upgrades, had beaten Matilda with a coffee mug, could hide from the robot for eight and a half minutes, and could lie to Ruby flawlessly. It was evident that she was very, very nerdy. She learnt more about her teammates, and they learnt more about her. For example: She was extremely stubborn and ridiculously competitive. If she set her mind to something, it was happening. There were no exceptions. Jackson bet her five dollars that she couldn't hang upside down from the ceiling fan for half an hour. Half an hour she would never get back later, he handed over the money. She and Matilda actually had a lot in common, but it still took the once-undercover-cheerleader a while to warm up to her.

It happened after the training was finished. Agent Megaphone was going on the very next mission that occurred. The following Saturday, the clock turned to the ten am and a herd of wild brothers stampeded through the Choi house. At exactly ten-oh-five, the individual favourite programs of every sibling were on. They included: The Most Extreme Things You CanDoWithA _(blank),_ Why Every Kid Needs A Flamethrower, The Adventures Of The Crazy Kid, and Junior Worldwide Wrestling Champ. Matilda was already sitting on the couch, remote in one hand. There would be no missing her show. She stared her brothers down, and before she knew what was happening, was wrestling them over the remote. Macy ran downstairs, her pigtails bouncing behind her.

"I wanna watch my cartoon!"

The girl joined in the mad tangle, and emerged victorious.

"MINE!"

She flipped a few buttons, and the TV started playing The Magnificent and the Victorious, a seriously cool cartoon about a girl and her friends in the aftermath of a monster apocalypse. Matilda's brothers disbanded, muttering angrily, but Matilda stayed and watched. It was actually good, and the main character, Tammy Prince, put a hulking beast in a head lock halfway through, making up Matilda's mind that it was almost as good as the Junior Worldwide Wrestling Champ was, although nothing could ever be better. As the credits rolled, they had their first proper conversation, mostly about the show. The talked more and more, finding a lot of common ground. By the time Monday rolled around, the two were best friends, something that completely freaked out their teammates, Agent Brand, the lunch lady, all the scientists, and a random stray cat that had somehow made it in. Well, the cat might not be for the same reason as all the others, but a large number of people were still shocked.

 **Is anyone there? If there is, I want to know what you think! I really enjoy writing this, but I just can't seem to get motivated enough if no-one reads it.**

 **~Madei**


	8. chapter 8

**I've got two weeks off school, so enjoy the extra updates!**

Eight: Holding Your Breath and Mechanical Crabs

Monday. Double maths. Impatiently waiting secret nerdy super spies. Macy tapped her pen on the desk, every second dragged itself by so very slowly. Then, right in the middle of a lengthy explination about angles, she sneezed. A massive, explosive, perfectly co-ordinated sneeze. Agent Brand's voice entered her head.

"Report to the playground immediately."

They needed to get out of class. Ummmm...

"OH MY GOD, I CAN SEE A CIRCUS OUT THE WINDOW!"

Macy quickly yelled. As everyone flocked to the window like moths to a flame, the NERDS ran out the hall, into their lockers, and then to the playground.

"Mission Briefing."

Brand sounded tense.

"Miss Information has recruited some new henchmen. They've got some kind of master plan, and they've gone through a lot of trouble to protect it. We need to get that plan."

Ruby got up and started for the jet.

"Let's go."

"There's a bit more to it, Pufferfish."

Wheezer frowned.

"Like what?"

"They've hidden it underwater."

Duncan interrupted.

"Great, we'll get to try out the new scuba gear that wa-"

"They have a giant metal detector. It won't pick up on nanobytes, but it will pick up on Jackson's braces. And any scuba gear or submersible. Plus, they've hidden the data inside a mechanical crab. One that will malfunction if it touches water. Oh, and it's in a trench. Next to a whirlpool."

Flinch's eyes were wide.

"If anyone can hold their breath for three hours and swim really well, raise your hand!"

Megaphone put her hand up. The entire group turned to look at her.

"What?"

Brand looked at her suspiciously.

"Explain."

"Well, my upgrades easily allow me to hold my breath for prolonged periods of time, and as for the whole swimming thing? I grew up three minutes from the beach. I swam almost every day. I could make it out of a rip with one arm tied behind my back. I could dive long past the end of the reef. I could definitely do this."

The fact was, the team had one choice: trust her. There were no other options. So just over an hour later she stood at the edge of a space jet she was preparing to jump out of. The water would be very warm, so she was wearing a one piece, which she had called a cozzie, that was the same midnight black as the uninviting deep water. She pulled a pair of untinted googles over her eyes and plummeted towards the warm water. Then she was under the surface, her hair swirling every whichway. She had been careful to land on the side without a whirlpool, but it also appeared to be the side without a door. So she was off, swimming through warm ink, trying to find a way in. There! A side door! She swam eratically towards it, before entering the huge dome that was supposed to serve as a place to keep that damn crab. Oh, gerbils and Jellybeans. She had a problem. The room was filled with water, with the exception of an enormous tank, far too big to fit through the side door. She swam up, and jumped in the top. She had an idea, but it was not going to be pretty.

"Here, little crabby crab..."

About fifteen minutes and one rope ladder later, agent Megaphone stood on the edge of the space jet. She mumbled a message, which Gluestick translated:

"Does anybody have a matchbox?"

Wheezer handed over a nearly empty one. Megaphone shook out the matches, pulled the small crab from where it was clamped between her teeth, snapped the box shut, and handed it to agent Brand. First mission: complete.

 **There! If there are any phantoms reading this (you know who you are) return to the world of the living by pressing that button that says review! It's not that difficult, I promise!**

 **~Madei**


	9. chapter 9

**Is anybody there? Hello? CATS! FOOD! FRECKLES BUT THE CHOCOLATE ONES, NOT THE ONES ON YOUR FACE!**

Nine: Mission Files

The team were on their way home from yet another scheme, this one involving a large device that blasted wigs on everything. It had been incredibly stupid, but also really far away. Nearly everyone was asleep, but Macy's eyes would not shut. She looked around the School Bus for something to do. One wall had a large cabinet filled with files. Case files. She asked the lunch lady if she could read them, got a positive answer, and grabbed the first file from the left on the top shelf. She was absolutely hooked within seconds. When the bleary-eyed NERDS stepped of the space jet, Macy nearly tripped walking down the stairs, still reading the case file and carrying four more. She read case files all the way from the very first team to the present-day one. Three-quarters through the shelf, she screamed at the file she was reading and snapped it shut. Then she ran over and showed Matilda the reason she had just nearly deafened everyone. Matilda flipped out.

"WHY IS THAT IN A CASE FILE?!?!?"

"I don't know. I didn't make it."

The other agents started asking questions. Ruby questioned first.

"When is this from?"

Macy hugged the file to her chest.

"From the time with that guy could upgrade himself."

Duncam went bright red as he realised why Matilda was freaking out.

"Please don't show that to anyone else."

"Fiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnne."

She went back to her files. The next day, on a different case file, she had the same reaction. So did her best friend. After Matilda had calmed down enough to blast the page with her inhaler, she made Macy promise to stop showing her the case files. She also made a mental note that she really had to find out how people were finding out what she was thinking. Soon.

 **Short chapter based on a random idea I had. I may have to review this myself on a guest account. Please give reviews to the poor.**

 **~Madei**


	10. chapter 10

**I now offically have enough details to start in on the main plot. I had to re-read the entire series three times to make sure I had all my info.**

Ten: Kook

Macy was asleep. Well, what else would she be doing at three minutes to midnight? Matilda was snoring, as was every one of her brothers. Also her mother. It was a wonder the house did not fall over. Then, something horrible happened. Both girls sneezed. Loud, violent sneezes that practically caused them to fall off their beds. Matilda rolled over in her sleep and muttered under her breath. Macy shot out of bed, ready to attack, but then got a look at the alarm blinking an angry number.

"What the flip could be so important that we have to be contacted at two minutes to midnight?"

She paused and listened.

"Just let me wake Wheezer and we're there."

She walked over and yanked off the duvet.

"WAKEUP!"

"But I was having this amazing dream where I was grown up and m- a pro wrestler. I was definitely a pro wrestler."

"NOTIME!"

Once the situation had been explained, Matilda found her combat boots and tugged them on while Macy yanked on a pair of unlaced sneakers. The two of them were out the window as the red numbers switched to a nice, even midnight. Wheezer was flying and carrying Megaphone, who's upgrades did not exactly help her move fast. The two of them went through the side door, into their lockers, and joined their bleary-eyed teammates in the playground. All the NERDS were still in their pyjamas, and, as astonishing as it might seem, Ruby's hair was even poofier then normal, and Jackson's hair was actually sitting down. It looked weird non-over gelled, and Macy told him so. He pointed out that her own looked weird out of pigtails. She punched him.

Agent Brand gave a quick series of orders that basically meant that they need to get on the School Bus, which they did. Then they were given their mission briefing. A brief one.

"We are headed to the coordinates (long string of numbers because the author does not know the actual coordinates) to a place known as Ayers Rock. A kook calling themselves the Kookaburra has asked you to meet them there using a decoded message on the crab-drive."

Megaphone, who was too tired to care about the made-up word, just asked her question.

"As in Uluru?"

"Yes, it is sometimes called that."

"I'M GOING BLOODY HOOOOOOOMMMMMMMEEEEEE!!!"

 **Thank you so much to the anonymous reviewer! You are awesome! I hope you like this!**

 **~Madei**


	11. chapter 11

**My wifi is evil. That is all there is to it. If the writing is like _this_ but not in bold someone is singing.**

Eleven:

Most of the team, with the exception of Megphone, had slept all through the flight. She was too excited. Most of the team, with the exception of Megaphone, had changed into all-black long-sleeve mission gear. She was too wise to bother with anything other than her shorts and oversized orange t-shirt bearing the phrase 'NORMAL PEOPLE SCARE ME' in big, white letters. She jumped out first, screaming enthusiastically all the way down. The other members of the team followed afterwards, and complained about how hot it was the second they hit the ground.

"What were you expecting? We're in the middle of a desert!"

Matilda pulled at her mission gear, trying to get the awful burning feeling to go away.

"Nobody told me we were going to a desert."

"Let's just go kick some butt, preferably somewhere with air conditioning."

Jackson stormed ahead. He had a stash of hair gel hidden on the Scholl Bus, but his hair was already re-collapsing from the heat and his sweat. It only took about a minute for them to be standing in front of a cleverly hidden door at the base of the rock, and about ten more seconds to make the password clue play.

"King of the bush song."

Followed by an incredibly haunting laugh. Everyone was stumped. Until...

" _Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,_

 _Merry merry King of the bush is he,_

 _Laugh, kookaburra, laugh,_

 _Oh how gay your life must be."_

Everyone turned to look at Megaphone, who shrugged. The door crept open.

"Where did you-"

"At preschool. It's practically a nursery rhyme."

Everyone went in. They were in a room filled with gum trees. Megaphone hugged the nearest one. For being so familiar. Stop judging her please. The haunting laugh filled the room again, and a villain stepped into the light...

 **~Madei**


	12. chapter 12

**I'm still extremely jet lagged despite everything and it's currently one am, but I promise that I am trying.**

Twelve: 

The team fell about laughing. The villain looked absolutely ridiculous.

A girl about their age, or maybe very slightly older, was clad in a dancer's leotard covered in feathers, a cruddy paper beak, a pair of awfully scruffy wings, and a weird feather headdress. Her face was disguised by some truly terrible face paint. She scowled, but it looked amusing rather than threatening, what with the beak and all.

"Enough!"

She squeaked instead of talking, her voice annoyingly high.

"Sorry, gigglers, but nothing's funny about the destruction of the planet. And looky looky here! We've got a gazillion bombs planted under ever country in the world! And who did that? The pretty little psycho called Kookaburra!"

She stopped talking to fumble around with a little speaker attached to her belt, and eventually managed to hit a button that made a grainy recording of a kookaburra's laugh play. She then pressed both of her feet hard to the ground before springing off. She had a feather-covered jetpack attached to her back, and it let her zoom out of sight.

The NERDS kept laughing. Pufferfish composed herself first, and tried to regain order.

"We have a mission to accomplish, and I trust that that will be your focus. Instead of the admittedly ludicrous costume of the villain with the world destruction plot."

Still giggling slightly, the team split up to look for the manual override room. When there's a bomb, there's a big button to cancel the explosion, and the NERDS had to find that button.

Almost immediently, Ruby found a metal tunnel, and walked down it. The walls widened, and the floor became a narrow platform. She caught her left foot on apparently nothing and went sprawling over the narrow floor. An alarm blared harshly, screaming in her ears. She was allergic to everything about this situation. Out of both the walls, cannons suddenly flew from behind hidden flaps. She felt herself turning into a ballon. This surely could get no worse. Them the cannons started firing. Not cannonballs. That would have been far too easy. It fired peanuts at her. Ruby gave a strangled cry and passed out.

Megaphone did not bother to stop laughing. She just turned to Flinch and yelled.

"Last one to the control room's a rotten Easter egg!"

"You're so on-Wait, can Easter eggs go bad?"

He seeemed genuinely concerned, and she took the opportunity to get a head start and raced away. He was right behind her within seconds, cranking up the knobs on his harness. He chased her around the perimeter of the room until she disappeared into an almost invisible doorway, and he ran into a tree. Ten seconds later, he followed her, still at high speed, but ran into her back after only a few seconds. She was frozen completely still. In front of them was a kangaroo.

"Hey, cool!"

"No, Flinch. That's not cool. Now listen very closely. This is a male kangaroo displaying dominant behaviour. Swallow your pride, crouch down, and BACK AWAY SLOWLY. Please do not try to fight the kangaroo."

"Pppffffftttttt. I could take this animal any day. You wanna dance, jumpy?"

Flinch adjusted his harness.

"I AM MIGHTY!"

His harness powered down. Oh. He had not had enough sugar to push it into top gear, so it had blown a fuse or something.

"FLINCH, YOU IDIOT."

Macy was already about twenty metres away.

"It's going to insist on a fight now. Your best bet is just to curl up in a ball and stay still as possible. Kangaroos are vegetarians, so they will normally only attack humans if they are genuinely feeling threatened or if they are convinced that the humans are withholding food. DO NOT FEED THE KANGAROO IN ORDER TO MAKE IT GO AWAY."

Flinch looked at the green lolly snakes he had just thrown on the floor in front of him.

"Oops."

"You bleep."

The silvery door blocking their one exit slid shut and another two kangaroos joined the first one. Flinch probably could have felt the stare trained on him if he was back home, locked in his room and completely safe. Well, time to fight kangaroos. With no upgrades. Like the curling up thing was going to work! What did Megaphone know about fighting a kangaroo?

Needless to say, this encounter did not end well.

Jackson walked right up to the trees, knocking on each one. His logic was that one of them had to be an entrance to some kind of secret basement or something like that. That was the way this would go down if he was in a movie, and his life was cool enough to be a movie anyway. Twenty or so trees in, he got a door. Excellent. He nonchalantly strolled through the entrance, whistling, like the ridiculously cool guy he was. No sweat. Then- CLANG! He was stuck to the magnetic walls.

Curse his braces.

Duncan climbed up a wall. There was a trapdoor, probably the way the villain had made their exit. Matilda flew up and hovered next to him.

"You gonna go through or what?

He grinned. Matilda blasted the trapdoor with her inhalers, and it flew right off it's hinges. They were through in a matter of seconds. Control room. Good. The villain-Kookaburra?-was trying to do that classic evil genius thing where you slowly spun around petting the cat, but Kooky was using a bird. Presumably the one they had modelled their costume off. The bird pecked the girl in the face before flying off with that same creepy laugh. The villain tried to salvage the situation by narrowing their eyes.

"Well, well, well. Guess you found me. Too bad your friends weren't so lucky."

Kookaburra spun around and fiddled with the control board for an awkwardly long time. When she stopped, three images were displayed on the screen behind her. Unconscious Pufferfish, struggling Braceface, and a worried-looking Megaphone trying to drag an unconscious Flinch away from three angry kangaroos.

"If you guess the right button, your friends are saved and so is the planet. If you guess wrong-"

Bad laugh track.

"Then it's bye, bye, worldly. Later!"

The girl ran away, doubtless to use a rocket or something else she had prepared in order to get away from the explosion. Gluestick sat down at the monitor. Wheezer leaned over his shoulder.

"Well?"

"Painstakingly easy to disengage."

Click. Flip. Spin.

"All done. Now let's fix the issues-"

Walls released braces, doors slid open, and some kind of conveyor belt slid along a peanut shooting gallery's floor. A rocket's fuel tank popped open and leaked all over the ground, stopping any launch.

"There."

One combine call and one arrest later, the NERDS were on their flight home. Agent Brand spoke to them.

"Agents, we have discovered something about this 'Kookaburra'."

Macy raised one eyebrow.

"What."

It was not a question.

Benjamin projected an image of Kookaburra's body with an undisguised, very famous face attached to it.

"Kookaburra is Scarletta Scar."

Scarletta Scar was the most popular singer the world had ever known. Her first hit had been at age eight, and even now at fifteen, she was a BIG deal.

"If it gets out she has been arrested, billions of angry fans will band together to find a way to get all blame off their precious girl and they will do anything to do so. They will be determined enough to find out about us. Because fans are crazy people if they love something or someone too much. We have to cover up her disappearance. But she is due to play a sold out concert with some extremely important people in attendance and near a billion people watching from their own homes live. We need to get an impersonator in there in less than four hours."

In a half-asleep, practically delusional state, Flinch pointed to the hologram and giggled,

"Hey Macy, it looks kind like you with a big scar on your face. Isn't that funny?"

Everyone turned and studied Megaphone for a half-second before nodding, satisfied. Benjamin spun and bleeped.

"Macy will also be able to impersonate Miss Scar's voice. She is perfect. She only requires a faint scar an her right cheek."

The lunch lady spoke from the cockpit.

"Heading to the stadium now."

 **As aforementioned, it's late and I blame jet lag. Sorry if it sucked. I tried.**

 **~Madei**


	13. chapter 13

**I have begun to write every lunch and every recess.**

Thirteen:

"I don't even know any Scarletta songs!"

Macy was being disguised by Benjamin, and protesting. Very loudly. Benjamin was multitasking and was also fixing Flinch's harness, with help from Duncan. Matilda stopped relishing in the fact that her best friend was being made girly rather than her for three seconds to give Benjamin a suggestion. Scarletta Scar songs were ridiculously catchy, you only really needed one listen to know all the words, just plug Macy into an IPod and play Rage, the most famous Scarletta Scar album, and Maddness, the second most so. And so they did. Half an hour later, Macy had a high ponytail, a red dress and heels, a red leather jacket, a faint fake scar, and Scarletta Scar's voice down.

"I don't hate the jacket. Everything else is dumb."

The lunch lady stuck his head into the cabin.

"Approaching descent."

"Do I have to skydive in a dress?"

Agent Brand fixed his suit jacket.

"Yes, Megaphone."

Megaphone whined like the real Scarletta.

Then Wheezer pushed her out the door and threw her parachute after.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

"CANNONBALL!"

"I HATE THIS!"

"SUCK IT UP!"

"COULD WE USE THE NEW HIGH-TECH ONE NEXT TIME?"

"BRACEFACE, YOU HAVE MY MISSION PACK!"

The typical sense of the yelling returned some clarity to Megaphone's head, at least in time for her to pull the cord on her parachute, which almost-but-not-quite fit over her jacket. She was, to be honest, more focused on holding down her DAMN SKIRT STAY DOWN YOU STUPID THING. As such, the straps slid neatly if the slippery jacket as the force pulled it upright and Macy Nelson plummeted towards the ground entirely parachute-free. She opened her mouth and yelled extremely loudly, leading her teammates to think they had just broken the sound barrier, and several people on the ground to think something had just exploded. By the time her teammates realised what was happening, Macy was only about thirty seconds from hitting the ground. Her brain was filled with pure panic. She could not remember the lessons on how to fall more slowly. She could only scream, too scared to even cry. Her life did not flash across her eyes, they were squeezed too tightly shut. Then...

WHUMP!

Something had her. What had her? Help! Wait, no. She was no longer falling. Oh. Actually... Yes, Wheezer was taking a photo. This was worse.

Somehow, despite the fact it did not seem within the realms of possibility, Flinch had got to the ground first. He had then caught her. And now Wheezer was taking pictures of him holding her. Were her legs working right? No. What was that from- THE FALL! CLEARLY THE FALL!

"Uh... You can put me down now?"

It was a question, and that worried her. He chuckled nervously, then did so. She fell over.

A few minutes later, the team worked out the problem. It was not the nerves. Megaphone just could not walk in high heels. Pufferfish frowned at nothing.

"What do we do now?"

Macy made a suggestion from the ground.

"I could take the heels off?"

Matilda was grinning deviously.

"No, my dear friend. That would ruin the disguise. Flinch is just going to have to carry you for ten blocks."

After some serious arguing, it was decided that this was the best solution. Megaphone sullenly allowed herself to be picked up, face burning under the dumb makeup. Ten blocks later, face still burning, she found herself outside the enormous building. She was immediately flocked by a crew of burly bodyguards, yelling into their earpieces and trying to pull her away from her friends. She raised both hands and, in a whiny Scarletta voice, launched into the explanation she had spent ten blocks perfecting.

"Hey! Back off! My limo broke down, I got out and started walking because they wanted me to HELP get it going again, then I tripped and sprained my ankle, so a bunch of randoms going to my concert helped, and I said they could come backstage. Okay?"

"Yes, Miss Scar. Immediately. But you must get into costume."

The burliest of the bodyguards plucked her out of Flinch's grasp.

"I will carry you to the dressing rooms. Brutus, get these kids VIP passes and throw them backstage."

Thirty seconds later, Macy was in her (Scarletta's) dressing room, being crammed into an even more ridiculous outfit. The red dress she was now clad in was shorter than the last one and had a flurry of red peacock feathers erupting from behind it. A matching headdress with a hole for the high ponytail clamped onto her skull. The shoes she was now wearing were also red, but thankfully were flats. Scarletta's manager stuck his head around the door.

"You're on in five, kid."

Before she knew it, Macy was on the stage, staring out at the audience, microphone in hand. An announcer said the songs she was going to sing, she just had to sing them. She could do this. She already was.

"OPENING STRONG WITH A PERSONAL FAVOURITE OF MINE, LITTLE MISS MAAAAADDDDDDNNNNNNEEEEEEESSSSSSS!"

Gah! What were the lyrics to this again? Panic flooded her thoughts and she was falling again, tumbling through the sky. Then, WHUMP! She was fine. The first cords were plucked out by the gutarist behind her.

" _Little Miss Madness, couldn't be a beauty queen. Pretty enough, but weren't her thoughts obscene! Seeing things no-one else could see, saying_

 _It doesn't worry me. Just crown me,_

 _Little Miss Madness,_

 _Escapist of Reality,_

 _I say normal,_

 _You shout back insanity,_

 _Little Miss Madness,_

 _This is just what I see, I see, I see..._

 _Played her own game, ignored the advice, followed no rules, brought her own dice, refused every option they said she had! Her mother told everyone: WHY, IT'S DRIVING ME MAD!_

 _Little Miss Madness,_

 _Escapist of Reality,_

 _I say normal,_

 _You shout back insanity,_

 _Little Miss Madness,_

 _My brain seems fine to me, to me, to me..."_

About a million songs later, Macy took her bow and walked off. Immediately, the bodyguards flicked her again.

"Who are you?"

"Wait, what? I'm Scarletta. Clearly."

One bodyguard cracked his knuckles.

"You don't whine enough to be Scarletta."

Macy dropped the microphone and went into a bracing-for-impact position.

"So we want to ask you..."

If she died before the season finale of her favourite show, she was going to flip.

"Can you permanently replace her?"

"Huh?"

"We hate Scarletta, and honestly don't care where she is now. If she never came back, we would be fine."

The School Bus touched down a short distance away with the bang that meant she needed to get back there.

"I'll work on the issue, but I gotta run right now!"

Macy dashed out the door, feet flying. Sprained ankle, as if. She skidded around screaming fans, losing feathers like she was moulting, and hit the outside of the School Bus because, like an idiot, she had not seen it coming. Inside, she collapsed.

"Please tell me I never have to do that again."

Duncan, video calling one of the scientists on his watch, looked up to answer her.

"Dr McHallister has made an incredibly realistic android and programmed it to act exactly the way the real Scarletta Scar would act."

"Soooo..."

"No."

"In which case I will be putting my normal stuff back on and then brushing my helmet-hair sprayed hair."

Macy left. Then she stuck her head back in the main compartment.

"Nobody light a match."

 **If you write every lunch and every recess, it will still take eternity to finish a chapter.**

 **~Madei**


	14. chapter 14

**Hey! I-I have no excuses. Instead of a pleading apology, please enjoy this update, because I am just going to get right to it.**

Fourteen:

Macy opened her eyes. What was that beeping noise? Alarm. Yeah. That thing. Why was it going off? Oh, yes. It did that in the mornings. It was morning? She had only just gone to sleep. Oh, yes. All night mission. Fun. Awake. She needed to be that. Yes. She was going to stand up now... Her legs were not working. Seriously, they had one job! Not fair! She had to get out of her camp bed somehow... She rolled over and crashed onto the floor. She pulled herself up using the edge of her best friend's bed. She was awake now. She... OH MY GOD IT WAS SO LATE THEY HAD TO BE AT SCHOOL IN TEN FREAKING MNUTES.

"MATILDA CHOI!"

Macy dragged her best friend onto the floor.

"No... I was having the best dream..."

"The one when you're a pro wrestler?"

"...Yes."

"Move."

On a regular morning, waking up extremely early was standard. If you wanted to get into the bathroom before all the brothers, you had to. If you wanted to get downstairs before they ate all the good cereal, you had to move like lightning. Everything had to be faster than fast.

Yeah, they were not getting to have showers or eat food this morning.

Macy pulled her hair into two vaguely pigtail-like bunches without brushing it, pulled on jeans, tugged on her hoodie and pulled the hood over her hair and staggered into her sneakers. She grabbed her bag, her best friend and her best friend's bag and dragged all three out.

"Hurry up! We're gonna be late!"

"Fine, I'll fly."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yes."

Everyone reacts differently to almost no sleep. Obviously, some people become tired and start to sleep. Some people become more testy. Some people become sluggish and move slower. Some become completely immune to bad ideas and sarcasm. Macy belonged to the last of these camps. Which is why Macy and Matilda ended up running into three or four trees on their way to school. However, they did arrive on time. They met a struggling-to-stay-awake Ruby near the entrance and prepared to walk in. Being nerdy often meant travelling in packs was the wisest option. Especially here. Guarding the front entryway were the three most popular girls in school, nicknamed a great deal of nasty things by the three least so. Some of the nicer names included The Fashion Police, The Bees, The Clones, and The Generics. They were all perfect mean girl stereotypes. Lori and Jenise had apparently been bothering the NERDS since Jackson was popular, but the third, Heather, had moved in at the beginning of the year and taken over. Now she was queen, and she and that Brett guy were apparently 'dating' which, at their age, did not mean that much. Still, The Clones blocked the entryway and refused to grant the nerdy girls access.

"HOLD IT!"

Heather put one hand out in front of her like she was stopping traffic.

"Why, if it isn't Tomboy, Bubble Girl, and Austra-Alien. What brings you losers here?"

On a average day, the three being confronted would have played it safe and stayed silent. But they were running on less than half an hour of sleep, so...

"We're attending the academic institution known as school in order to purse the prolongation of our erudition."

Macy did not even blink. Heather did. Several times.

"Oh, are you?"

"Snappy comeback! You really reached deep for that one, huh?"

"You all look terrible! OMG, you could build a town full of bird's nests in your hair, your clothes are basically pyjamas, and I could go SHOPPING with the bags under your eyes! And I use my daddy's credit cards!"

"Funny. Let us through."

The Generics were so shocked, they actually did. The reality of what Macy had just said came rushing back in her face. She moaned.

"Sorry. We're really in for it now."

Matilda yawned heavily.

"S'fine. Don't worry."

Ruby nodded.

"Hey, what class do we have first?"

Macy checked.

"Double maths. Yay."

As usual, Macy quietly sang Advance Australia Fair through the jumble of words. The math teacher pretended not to notice and began her lesson. As usual.

"So, class! Today we will be learning about units of measurement. How many inches in a foot?"

"Some ridiculous, hard to remember number that makes zero sense?"

The math teacher ignored Macy.

"How many feet in a..."

"Your measurement system is dumb! Go metric! It's easier!"

"HOW MANY YARDS IN A MILE!"

"A STUPID AMOUNT THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS PICKED AT RANDOM!"

"FINE. Miss Nelson, I welcome you to come up and teach the lesson."

"Thanks."

Macy made her way to the front and looked at the teacher expectantly.

"Well? You can sit down now!"

The teacher looked extremely flustered.

"That wasn't literal-obviously I meant-not how this should be going-"

"Please sit down."

The teacher did so, utterly shellshocked. Macy smiled at her.

"Okay, so today's lesson is about the metric system, which is vastly superior to your dumb, nonsensical way of measuring things in the way that it actually makes sense. So, let's begin!"

Macy pointed to several of the popular kids.

"You, you, and you, come to the front and build a tower one metre high with these lego bricks hidden under the teacher's desk."

The kids made their way to the front. The first of them made a tiny little tower, the second copied the first, and the third made one that was considerably bigger. Macy plonked a metre ruler on the desk. Even the tallest of them was way too short.

"Sit down, please."

Macy grabbed three drink bottles and filled them to various levels.

"Which one is a litre?"

The class broke out into a shouting mess. Everyone was loud and angry.

"That one! This one! No, THAT ONE!"

It was an enormous fight. In the end, the class picked the one with the medium amount of filling. Macy shook her head and pointed to the fullest one. The outraged class demanded that she prove it. One lengthy explanation later, she did. Then she pointed to the teacher.

"You! How would you dress for minus five degrees Celsius?"

The teacher looked down at her cardigan and long skirt.

"Like this, I suppose...?"

"NOPE! Minus five degrees Celsius is equivalent to twenty-three Fahrenheit!"

The teacher was clearly taken aback.

"Oh-of course-I was just testing-"

Macy smiled.

"Okay people, now we're going to talk about sensible measurements."

Macy turned out to be pretty good at teaching maths on almost no sleep. Afterwards, however, she was basically a zombie. She collapsed on the ground outside shortly after the bell rang.

"My legs are asleep."

Matilda, slightly more awake now, laughed at her friend.

"You can't walk at all at the moment! It's getting ridiculous! Do you just want Flinch to carry you everywhere?"

Macy was still awake enough to go scarlet.

"No! As if!"

Ruby smiled.

"I'm allergic to crushes, and there's a surprising amount of crushes all over the entire team at the moment."

The boys had arrived just in time to hear that last statement, so now two sets of best friends were staring at Ruby with insane intensity, and Jackson was doubled over laughing.

"Dude! Seriously?"

"Yes. But not intensely enough to see who the crushes are or anything."

Four nerds visibly relaxed.

"Not that I would need any upgrades to."

This last part was said in a whisper. Only one member of the team heard it. All members heard the brain-blowing sneeze that erupted a second later.

"New information, get to the Playground immediently."

Ruby slapped Jackson so he would stop laughing.

"Time to move."

 **Yeah, not much happened. I just wanted Macy to preach the metric system. Plus, we learned some stuff here that will matter later on, so HA! Purpose! It's in there somewhere!**

 **~Madei**


	15. chapter 15

**Um... I had this chapter written. And docs has deleted it. So! Starting from scratch! AndalsobeingverybadatupdatingI'msosorryIpromiseI'mworkingonit.**

Fifteen

The team was at the Playground quite possibly faster than they ever had been before. Well, maybe not as fast as that one time it was mentioned that the vending machine had been restocked before they got there and Flinch had pulled everyone—

You get the point.

It was fast.

When they got there, they were understandably on the confused side of things. Why? The Playground was completely, utterly, and undoubtedly empty. Every single scientist, every single workbench, every single piece of tech and human being was just... Gone. Right down to...

"THE VENDING MACHINE!"

Flinch's anguished cry might have been funny if not for the fact that he sat himself in the place it used to be and started crying...This was not funny.

As I mentioned earlier, there are many reactions to being ridiculously overtired. Unfortunately for the NERDS team, Flinch was so stricken by this loss, which ordinarily would have been devastating for him, but when combined with two unfortunate pieces of trivia, made this missing machine a greater tragedy than the sinking of the Titantic. These two pieces of information?

1\. Julio Escala hadn't slept at all. Not even for a single second.

2\. Julio Escala had not eaten anything remotely sugary since a few caramels he'd had on the bus directly before they began the mission.

So now, Flinch was immovable and crying like someone had told him he was going to die within the hour. The rest of the team were looking around at the vast, empty space in a state of mild (extreme) shock. Ruby's eyebrows knitted themselves together.

"If no-one's here...who contacted us?"

The question, obviously, had to be the first order of business. Figure out what was going on. Get Flinch to stop crying. Maybe save the world, depending on whether or not the world needed saving. It probably did. It always did.

The N.E.R.D.S. team split up to investigate the room they were currently in, as well as the many leading off it. Macy found herself on Flinch cheering-up duty, largely due the fact that she still didn't really know where all the secret rooms were.

...apparently there were a lot more than she had been anticipating.

She also hadn't been anticipating Flinch to be this utterly heartbroken over the loss of the vending machine. He wasn't listening to her. At all. She was now snapping her fingers in his face.

She had forgotten just how bad she was at snapping her fingers again, okay, gonna start screaming now.

Macy did a great impersonation of a fire alarm from her spot next to Flinch where the vending machine used to be. The shouts of the others echoed out of the various rooms they were in.

"Hey guys, I think I found something!..that's a spider. That is definitely a spider."

"Don't touch it!"

"I wasn't going to!"

"Did you guys know we had a pool? 'Cause we have a pool."

"Oh man, we gotta test it out!"

"After we find everyone, Jackson!"

"I wasn't suggesting right now, Ruby!"

"Dude, you were totally thinking right now."

"I was not!"

"Hey guys, I found something interesting!"

"Is it a cool bug?"

There was a silence.

"Don't bring it out."

There was a weightier silence.

"WHY!?"

A random but admittedly cool bug was released from a hatch in the ceiling. Macy nudged Flinch in an effort to point it out to him. He continued sobbing. Macy stopped being a fire alarm.

"This is hurting my throat. So, if you're not going to stop, just don't move."

Macy proceeded to rest her head on Flinch's shoulder and go to sleep. Or...pretend to go to sleep and instead freak out. THIS WAS WHAT HAPPENED WHEN SHE TRIED TO INTERACT WITH HUMANS WITHOUT SLEEPING. WHY HAD SHE DONE THIS. HOW HAD SHE DONE THIS. WHY WAS SHE LIKE THIS. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

It took Flinch a few seconds to notice that Macy's head was on his shoulder. He then froze. He also stopped crying. The two of them sat in stiff silence for what felt like an eternity but was probably more like...three minutes. They stopped and immediately jumped apart when Matilda blasted her haphazard way back into the main room.

"I FOUND SOMETHING! IT'S NOT A KIND OF BUG!"

The rest of the N.E.R.D.S. seemed to materialise right out of the woodwork. Which is a strange expression to use in this instance because there was literally no wood in the Playground. But, you get the gist of it all, right?

Everyone followed Matilda, who honestly seemed to be getting a lot better at stabilising her sleep-deprived flying. She only hit the walls twice! Flinch was getting consistently more sluggish and leaning on whatever was nearest to him every few steps. When that something was nothing, he crashed onto the ground like a felled tree.

...progress was pretty slow.

When the kids did eventually reach the end of the (rather stupidly) long hallway, they found a door labelled 'Advanced Personal Only'. They went through it, obviously. Who in the facility was more advanced then them?

Agent Brand and Miss Holiday. Duncan was the fastest taking in the room, and voiced his opinion about what it was in record time.

"This is Agent Brand's office."

It had clearly also once been Miss Holiday's office, but judging by the fact that one of the two desks in the room was blocked off by a large screen, their boss was trying to forget that. Matilda, staring at a cork board covered in photos, red wool, and thumbtacks, added to the discussion.

"I knew he had to HAVE one, but I didn't really think I'd ever get to see it."

There were general murmurs of agreement. Each of the N.E.R.D.S. had found something to fiddle with, and as such, had begun to fiddle with it.

Ruby was sitting in Brand's chair and going through the paperwork covering his desk, Matilda was inspecting a few of the old movie posters displayed on the left wall (was that the old guy Mobi had been obsessed with last year, or did all the guys in old movies just look the same?), Jackson was going through a rather impressive stash of hair products he'd found in Brand's top drawer, Duncan was captivated by what looked like a prototype of the laser watches they were all wearing right now, Flinch had found a (quite possibly stale) chocolate bar and was trying to savour it, and Macy...er...Agent Megaphone had found an actual megaphone.

She turned it on, obviously, and then spoke into it. Because that's what you do when you find a megaphone. No, not the person. The object. All the agents sneezed violently, and Megaphone's (the person, not the—you know.) voice came through into their brains. Macy stared at the object. Everyone else did too.

"Guys? What do you wanna bet you don't need to be hooked up to the system to activate the comlink and come done here?"

"I'll put fifty bucks on it."

Miss Information strode out of the private bathroom, into the room.

"Surprised?"

 **Yeah, I think I mentioned earlier that I was sorry but I'm gonna do it again here anyway. I AM AO VERY SORRY!**

 **I hope you liked it. This chapter was originally so different. Like, so different. But this happened instead. I quite like it, so maybe you will too.**

 **~Madei**


End file.
